Reconsidering the Assumption of Data Accuracy

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This chapter explores the assumption that data is an accurate representation of the world and how it manifests in daily life. It discusses the translation process required to convert qualitative experiences into machine-readable data and the discrepancy between marketing promises and device capabilities. The chapter also critiques the idea of technological progress and highlights the commercial pressures involved in incorporating interfaces into products.

Paris Marx is joined by Zachary Kaiser to discuss the power of tech interfaces, why data isn’t an accurate reflection of the world, and why we need to discuss democratic decomputerization.

Zachary Kaiser is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design and Experience Architecture at Michigan State University. He’s also the author of Interfaces and Us: User Experience Design and the Making of the Computable Subject.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

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